Sliding roof for a skylight opening provided in a building or over a court enclosed on all sides

ABSTRACT

A sliding roof for a skylight opening provided in a building or over a court enclosed on all sides, and having a surrounding rim comprises a roof panel supported by a rectangular girder frame and is guided for movement between open and closed positions. On the rim there is provided an outwardly projecting flange and the girder frame is extended below this flange and projects under the flange to form together therewith a labyrinth seal.

United States Patent 1191 Siirensen et al. I

SLIDING ROOF FOR A SKYLIGHT OPENING PROVIDED IN A BUILDING OR OVER A COURT ENCLOSED ON ALL SIDES Inventors: Sven Ake Lennart Siirensen,

Ramlosabrunn; Georg Valentin, I-Ielsingborg, both of Sweden Assignee: Hoganas AB, I-Ioganas, Sweden Filed: June 7, 1972 Appl. No.: 260,578

Foreign Application Priority Data June 11, 1971 Sweden 7572/71 US. Cl 52/66, 52/2, 52/72, 52/209 Int. Cl E04b 7/16 Field of Search 52/66, 2, 64, 404, 72, 52/209, 55; 47/17; 114/202; 49/425 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l/196l Huston et al. 52/200 X 6/1965 Huskamp 52/2 8/1965 Cherney et a1. 1 14/202 3,277,619 10/1966 MlllCl et al. 52/72 3,320,708 5/ 1967 3,347,200 1.0/1967 3,415,014 12/1968 Hamilton 114/202 x 3,465,483 9/1969 Miller;

3,473,276 10/1969 Back et 81..

3,495,354 2/1970 Waldram 114/202 x 3,602,183 8/1971 Aarvold 114/202 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 717,698 9/1965 Canada..; 52/200 Primary Examiner-FI-Ienry C. Sutherland Assistant Examiner-Leslie A. Braun 57] ABSTRACT A sliding roof ,for a skylight opening provided in a building or over a court enclosed on all sides, and having a surrounding rim comprises a roof panel supported by a rectangular girder frame and is guided for movement between open and closed positions. On the rim there is provided an outwardly projecting flange and the girder frame is extended below this flange and projects under the flange to form together therewith a labyrinth seal.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATE'N'IEB UM 1 1 m4 SHEET 10F 6 Fig. 2

PATENTEHJUH m I974 3.8152 99 SHEETEBUF 6 15? 4 up; 21, 25 3 III/111 Fig. 4

PATENTEUJUN 1 1 1374 SHEET, t 0F 6 IIIIIII'I'I i PATENTEDJUHH I974 saw 6 BF 6 SLIDING ROOF FOR A SKYLIGHT OPENING PROVIDED INA BUILDING OR OVER A COURT ENCLOSED ON ALL SIDES The invention relates to a sliding roof for a skylight opening provided in a building or over a court enclosed on all sides, and having a surrounding rim, which sliding roof comprises a roof panel supported by a rectangular girder frame and is guided for movement between open and closed positions, sealing means being pro vided to sealingly engage the rim in said latter position.

Sliding roofs of this type are most commonly used in atrium houses for covering the court enclosed on all sides but also in buildings of other types for covering swimming pools, court-yards, restaurant rooms etc. However, it is a problem how to provide a satisfactory seal between the roof and the rim in the closed position of the sliding roof due to the fact that the sealng properties of this sea] are put to a severe test; the covered space should be as cosy and comfortable as any room in the building and, therefore, penetrating water or condensation moisture cannot be allowed to trickle from the roof. The sealing arrangement as presently used in this connection comprises a combination of a sealing member of stainless spring steel engaging the rim from the outside, and rubber sealing strips engaging the rim from the inside, but this arrangement is not satisfactory. The spring steel sealing member is not reliable due to existing tolerances, deflection etc. Moreover, separate sealing members of a special type must be arranged in thecorners of the roof opening. Due to the defective sealing provided by present sealing arrangements moisture may penetrate at heavy rain or drifting snow notwithstanding the sealing arrangement, which leads to drops of water trickling down as well as to the risk for sticking of the sliding roof due to freezing at cold weather. r

The girder frame usually formed of light metal forms a cold bridge between the surrounding and the covered space, and when using present sealing arrangements the inner side of the frame will not be completely covered which means that there is a risk for the formation of condensation water when warm moisty air contacts the cold metal surfaces available from the inside. Although iri case there is provided a special gutter for the collection and drainage of condensation water there is in cold weather the risk that the gutter will be blocked due to freezing condensation water as a consequence thereof trickling down into the covered space, and that the sliding roof will stick due to freezing.

The arrangement of a satisfactory seal for sliding roofs of the kind referred to above is also difficult since the principals applied to common roof windows cannot simply be transposed to sliding roofs due to the large tolerances provided in such roofs, the risk for corrosion, and the large mass forces involved.

To solve the sealing problem there is provided according to the invention in a sliding roof for a skylight opening having a surrounding rim, comprising a roof panel, a rectangular girder frame supporting the panel, means guiding the sliding roof for movement between open and closed positions, and sealing means sealingly engaging the rim in said latter position, the arrangement of a labyrinth seal along at least one of the sides of the sliding roof, formed by an outwardly projecting flange on the rim and by the girder frame extending FIG. 2 is a plan view of the roof of .the building the sliding roof being shown in a closed position;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the marginal portion of the sliding roof and part of the rim as well as the sealing arrangement atoneof the sides extending in the direction of movement of the sliding roof;

FIG. 4 is a corresponding cross-sectional viewtaken at one of the two other sides extending transversely of the moving direction of the sliding roof;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view according to FIG. 4 at the other one of the sides extending transversely o the moving direction of the sliding roof;

FIG. 6 is a view according bodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a view according to FIG. 4 of a modified em bodiment. v

I The atrium building shown in FIG. 1 forms a court 10 enclosed on all sides, and in the roof ll of the building there is formed a rectangular skylight opening 13 over the court, surrounded by a raised rim 12. This roof opening is adapted to be covered by a sliding roof 14 consisting of a girder frame 15 and a roof panel 16 of opaque or preferably transparent material, supported by the frame, the panel being connected with the frame by an end cover metal sheet 17 and an overlying sealing metal sheet 18. A number of supporting wheels 19 each of which is rotatably journalled on a wheel mounting 20 are arranged in a line on rim .12along two opposite sides of opening 13 as well as on top of room 11 over a distance extending beyond the rim sufficiently to allow sliding roof l4 to'be moved as a whole between the closed position shown in FIGS. 1' and '2, in which the sliding roof covers completely opening 13, and an open position in which opening '13 is substantially uncovered and thesliding roof is for the mostpart on top of the roof surrounding the opening. The profile forming girder frame 15., which usually is'formed of a light metal, is channelled'and receives supporting wheels 19 between the upper flange 41 and. the low'erflange 43, the upper flange 41 of the channel'engaging the wheels as will be seen from FIG. 3 such that the track 42 of the wheels is satisfactorily protected against getting dirty. For the movement of the sliding roof between these two positions there is provided a wire system 21 connected to the sliding roof I4 and toan electric drive motor 22. This arrangement isas a whole of a conventional construction.

According to the invention the web of the channel of girder frame 15 is substantially extended downwardly in order to be disposed in the closed position of sliding roof 14 below a light metal profile 23 forming the upper portion of rim l2, and is formed with an inwardly projecting flange 24 adapted to be disposed below an outwardly projecting flange 25 which is formed on an upwardly extending portion of the light metal profile 23. The two flanges 24 and 25 thereby form a labyrinth seal 44 substantially decreasing the penetration of rain and snow underextraordinary weather conditions, such as heavy rain, strong wind and whirling snow, However, for additional sealto FIG. 5 of a modified eming there is mounted to girder frame a sealing strip 26 for example of stainless spring band steel, which engages flange this flange being formed with a sharp edge to co-operate with the sealing strip. Also in prior art sealing arrangements there is provided a sealing strip of this type but in the arrangement described the stress in said strip is substantially lower than in proper art arrangements due to the fact that it is disposed after the labyrinth seal so to speak. Thereby, the sealing strip can more easily operate as a seal than in the prior art sealing arrangements, and prevents effectively in combination with the labyrinth seal the penetration of rain and snow from the outside.

To sliding roof 14 there is connected a heat insulating panel 27 which is spaced inwardly from girder frame 15, and opposite this heat insulating panel and spaced downwardly therefrom there is connected to the inner surface of rim 12 a corresponding heat insulating panel 28; these two panels may be formed of a conventional insulating material such as expanded plastics. Set into panel 28 is a gutter 29 formed by the light metal profile for collecting condensation waterand discharging such water through a spigot. The space between the two panels is sealed by a freely depending sealing strip 30 formed for example of synthetic rubber, which is connected to insulating panel 27 and engages a marginal portion of insulating panel 28. In register with the two rows of supporting wheels 19 the rim-must have openings for the passage of the sealing strips at the movement of the sliding roof. For these openings no special sealing means are required; the labyrinth seal provides an entirely satisfactory sealing of the openings.

The sealing arrangement described is provided, as mentioned above, at the two opposite sides of the sliding roof extending in the moving direction of the sliding roof. However, a sealing arrangement of the same construction may be provided at one of the other two sides of the sliding roof, which extend transversely of the moving direction of the sliding roof, ie the side to the left as seen in FIG. 2, as this side does not have to pass the rim at the movement of the sliding roof between closed and opened position. This is disclosed in FIG. 4 which hardly requires a detailed explanation. The same references have been used in this figure as in FIG. 3. The seal at the other one of the two last mentioned sides is more problematic but may be arranged for example as disclosed in FIG. 5. In this case the girder frame 15 is supplemented with an angular bar 31 extending along said side of the sliding roof, the bar being connected with the frame in a hinge 32 to be pivoted between the position disclosed by full lines, and the position disclosed by dotted lines. This angular bar may be connected to a cam control mechanism or the like to be in the position disclosed by full lines, when the sliding roof is completely closed, the angular bar together with flange 25 of light metal profile 23 forming said labyrinth seal, and to be pivoted during an initial part of the opening movement of the sliding roof to the position disclosed by dotted lines in which the angular bar is raised not to interfere with rim 12 at the movement of the sliding roof to open position to the left as seen in FIG. 5. The downward pivotal movement is provided by the cam control mechanism or the like immediately before the time when the sliding roof arrives at its completely closed position. In order to allow the movement of the sliding roof, sealing strip 26 is arranged to co-operate with light metal profile 23 at the inner side thereof and the flexible sealing strip 30 contacts panel 28 at the inner side thereof in the closed position of the sliding roof.

A modification of the sealing arrangement according to FIG. 5 is shown in FIG. 6. In this case sealing strip 26 and angular bar 31 are substituted by a sealing strip 33 for example of stainless spring band steel, which is supported by frame 15 and is formed in such a way that it is elastically yieldable to slide over light metal profile 23 forming the upper portion of the rim, when the sliding roof is moved to the open position from the closed position shown in FIG. 6, as well as when it is returned to the closed position. However, this sealing arrangement is considered not to be so good as that of FIG. 5 since there'is no labyrinth seal.

FIG. 7 discloses a modification of the sealing arrangement between the two insulating panels 27 and 28. In this case sealing strip 30 is dispensed with and substituted by a flexible hose seal 34 which is mounted to insulating panel 28 and is connected to a fluid source so that it can be filled with liquid or air in order to assume the condition shown by full lines in FIG. 7, wherein the hose is pressed against the opposite edge surfaces of the two insulating panels and fills the space therebetween. When the sliding roof is to be moved to the open position fluid is drained off from the hose and the hose will collapse to the condition shown by dotted lines, in which the hose allows for unobstructed movement of insulating panel 27 in relation to insulating panel 28.

In a variation of this embodiment hose seal 34 is dispensed with and one of panels 27 and 28 is arranged to be displaced between a position in which it engages directly, at the edge surface thereof, the edge surface of the other panel, and another position in which it is retracted from said other panel such that the movement of the sliding roof may take place without beingobstructed by panels 27 and 28.

What we claim is:

1. A closure device for a skylight opening having a surrounding rim comprising:

a sliding roof including a roof panel, a rectangular girder frame supporting 'the panel, and sealing strip;

guiding means positioned on the rim for guiding the sliding roof for movement between open and closed positions;

a metal profile positioned on said rim and having an outwardly projecting rim flange positioned on an upwardly extending portion of said profile;

and wherein said girder frame includes: a girder forming at least one side of said girder frame, said girder having a vertical web with an outwardly projecting upper flange forming an inverted track for said guide means, an opposed lower flange spaced apart from said upper flange, the space between said upper and lower flanges forming a channel embracing said guide means, and an inwardly projecting flange positioned below said rim flange in the closed position to form a labyrinth seal between said sliding roof and said rim; and

wherein said sealing strip comprises: a cantilever, re-

silient strip extending adjacent the inward side of said vertical web, one edge of said resilient strip being attached to said vertical web and the other edge engaging said rim flange in the closed position.

2. A closure device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the labyrinth seal is provided along one of the sides extending transversely of the moving direction of the sliding roof, and further comprising on the girder frame along said one side a pivoted angular bar which is operable between a lowered position in which the angular bar projects under the projecting flange on the rim in the closed position of the sliding roof, and a raised position in which the angular barclears the rim at the movements of the sliding roof between open and closed position.

3. A closure device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising along one of the sides extending transversely of the moving direction of the sliding roof a blade spring mounted to the lower side of the frame and sealingly engaging the rim in the closed position of the sliding roof, the spring being formed to slide to and 5. A closure device as claimed in claim I further comprising on the inner side of the girder frame and the rim a covering heat insulating panel. one of these panels being displaceable between a first position in which said one panel engages the other panel, and a second position in which said one panel is retracted from said other panel.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,315 Dated June '1 L 1074 Inventor) Sven Ake Lennart Sorensen et :11.

It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent I and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

[75] Inventors: "Georg Valentin" should read Georg Valentin Cornland Signed and sealed this 12th day of November 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY M. GIBSON JR; C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-IDSO (0-69) I USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 U.S, GOVERNMENT FRINT'NG OFFICE: 930 

1. A closure device for a skylight opening having a surrounding rim comprising: a sliding roof including a roof panel, a rectangular girder frame supporting the panel, and sealing strip; guiding means positioned on the rim for guiding the sliding roof for movement between open and closed positions; a metal profile positioned on said rim and having an outwardly projecting rim flange positioned on an upwardly extending portion of said profile; and wherein said girder frame includes: a girder forming at least one side of said girder frame, said girder having a vertical web with an outwardly projecting upper flange forming an inverted track for said guide means, an opposed lower flange spaced apart from said upper flange, the space between said upper and lower flanges forming a channel embracing said guide means, and an inwardly projecting flange positioned below said rim flange in the closed position to form a labyrinth seal between said sliding roof and said rim; and wherein said sealing strip comprises: a cantilever, resilient strip extending adjacent the inward side of said vertical web, one edge of said resilient strip being attached to said vertical web and the other edge engaging said rim flange in the closed position.
 2. A closure device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the labyrinth seal is provided along one of the sides extending transversely of the moving direction of the sliding roof, and further comprising on the girder frame along said one side a pivoted angular bar which is operable between a lowered position in which the angular bar projects under the projecting flange on the rim in the closed position of the sliding roof, and a raised position in which the angular bar clears the rim at the movements of the sliding roof between open and closed position.
 3. A closure device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising along one of the sides extending transversely of the moving direction of the sliding roof a blade spring mounted to the lower side of the frame and sealingly engaging the rim in the closed position of the sliding roof, the spring being formed to slide to and from such engagement at the movement of the sliding roof between open and closed posItion.
 4. A closure device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising on the inner side of each of the girder frame and the rim a covering heat insulating panel, the panels being mutually spaced, and further comprising in the space between the panels a flexible hose seal which is expandible by fluid to fill the space between the panels.
 5. A closure device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising on the inner side of the girder frame and the rim a covering heat insulating panel, one of these panels being displaceable between a first position in which said one panel engages the other panel, and a second position in which said one panel is retracted from said other panel. 